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Battle of Bloody Justice
The Battle of Bloody Justice was a long battle fought in 623 K.C involving the military power of the Duchy of Avern, supported by the Sword Knights of Aella, against remnants of the Undead Scourge. Fought on open fields and in trenches, both sides suffered heavy casualties, but ultimately the Scourge forces were shattered, with their leadership forced to flee the field and the remains of their forces hunted down and eradicated. Background Shortly after the end of the Thunder Isle Campaign, which saw the Thunder King defeated by brave heroes, Zephon Carhagen returned to the Duchy of Avern, having been given the land and associated titles by the previous ruler, Lord Aretain Kingsmith. Upon arrival within the Duchy, Zephon was confronted by a foe from the Third War, Lord Moander, who had rallied a large number of Scourge and was decimating the Duchy. Utilizing the military assets that had been built up within the Duchy, Zephon and the Avernian Military waged a long campaign against Lord Moander's forces, but they were heavily outnumbered and could never seem to make a sizeable dent in the undead ranks despite their superior arms and armor. After several months of constant fighting in which many soldiers of Avern perished. Zephon and his forces were given a supporting lifeline from the Sword Knights of Aella, a military branch of holy warriors from the Imbringen Islands. The army that they had brought from their lands united with the forces of Avern and soon after, the Battle of Bloody Justice began. The Battle The battle was waged in trenches and open fields. Undead of all shapes and sizes with no care for strategy, rushed the defensive lines of the allied forces, clashing into the heavy shields and spears of the Avern sentinels which made up the first line of defense. Reinforced by loyal crusaders, the defensive lines held and stopped the Scourge advance, giving the ranged infantry the ability to fire volley after volley of crossbow bolt and steel shot into the undead ranks. Unlike other mortal forces, which would have retreated after suffering such a blow, the undead did not know the meaning of retreat, and kept pushing and pushing against the defenders. The scourge then began to rain down ranged fire of its own, in the form of meatwagons hurling plagued corpses into the defensive lines. The result was catastrophic for the defenders, with many being killed on the spot from the virulent plague energies. The defensive lines shattered and chaos reigned over the field as the defenders attempted to reform. Noting that his forces were in danger of losing the battle. Zephon Carhagen and First Sword Karleigh Marquos took command of the cavalry, which included many mounted knights and heavy chariots and flanked the Scourge siege lines. They shattered the meatwagons and slaughtered the cultists crewing them. The chariots and knights were then sent to flank the remaining Scourge forces, while Zephon and Karleigh engaged Lord Moander and Lich-Lord Atraxes, the leaders of the Scourge forces. The battle waged between the champions was a fierce one. Zephon proved to be an even match to Lord Moander's strength and skill, while Karleigh was forced to contend with the Lich Lord's foul spellcraft. Despite having power far greater than that of the First Sword Knight, the Lich Lord fell in battle against the Paladin before having his phylactery, which he foolishly carried with him, destroyed, preventing him from returning from the grave. Now forced to fight two skilled paladins, Lord Moander summoned a small army of ghouls before retreating from the field, but not before swearing vengeance on Zephon and Karleigh. When Zephon and Karleigh returned to the field, they witnessed the remaining Scourge being wiped out, either by sword and spear, or by bolt and shot. Without the siege weapons firing virulent plagues into the defensive lines, the heavily armed and armored defenders were able to rally, and the knights and chariots that had flanked the Scourge had all but spelled doom for the undead aggressors. The Battle of Bloody Justice was won. The Aftermath Following the battle, the dead were collected and burned, as the bodies had been contaminated by plague and may rise up as undead if they were buried traditionally. Weapons and armor of the fallen, especially the Sword Knights, were taken from the bodies and stored to be taken back to the armories. The forces of the Sword Knights returned to the Imbringen Islands, with missives from Zephon Carhagen, now First Sword of the Lordaeron Branch of the Sword Knights of Aella, to the Luxerois Empire, a large kingdom located on the Imbringen Islands.